Naruto: Unyielding
by DrHokage
Summary: “Ok,” the guy said back to his no nonsense tone of voice. “I’ll get right to the most important secret. The Kyuubi no Kitsune is inside you, and that’s the reason so many of the villagers hate you.” A little kindness can go a long way.


Hello, welcome to my story. I know that I am late coming into the fan fiction business, but after reading some very good Naruto stories, I thought I'd write one too. It might be good, might be bad, but I'm gonna write it anyway. Anyhow, I don't own Naruto, at least until I can convince Masashi Kishimoto to give me owner rights.

**Chapter 1: Nighttime Visits**

Haruno Sakura was having a good day. First, she got to school before her rival, Yamanaka Ino, so she got to sit next to her crush, Sasuke-kun. Then at lunch break, Naruto no baka showed up and told her she looked pretty, significantly boasting her self-esteem, even if she would never tell anyone that. She had enough trouble accepting it herself. After promptly knocking the idiot thru the wooden fence that surrounded the academy park/training grounds, her class went back inside and she got the results for their last test. Once again she got the highest grade in the class, thus beating Ino and all the other girls trying to take her Sasuke-kun.

Then they were given a chakra control exercise, one that needed to be complete by the end of two weeks. Well, Sakura was proud to say that after only six hours of hard work, she could now run around with leafs attached to her arms without them ever falling off, or at least till she gets tired. So, as she walked home from the secluded clearing she always went to so that no one caught her secretly training (she didn't want to get picked on for being a nerd ever again), she made plans to show Iruka-sensei and conveniently her Sasuke-kun how she completed the exercise early. The ten year old couldn't wait to see the look on his face, him smiling and congratulating her for being so smart!

However, as she skipped along, day dreaming of her Sasuke-kun and him confessing his undying love for her and her big forehead, she did not notice a figure suddenly appear in her path. She grunted and fell down on her butt when she ran into him, and as she looked up she let out a whimper of fear. The tall man (she guessed it was a man since she had never seen any woman that tall), had his face completely hidden by the large hood, and he was wearing a black cloak that blocked her from viewing what he was wearing underneath. As she scuttled backward, away from the man, already thinking about screaming out the top of her lungs and hoping a ninja would come by, the man threw down some items that landed by her feet. Without so much as a word, the black cloaked man disappeared.

Sakura, confused yet still curious, scooted up to the discarded items and peered at them. She was surprised to see two swords, beautiful swords at that, both sheathed in a white holder with pink sakura petals dancing around, and two pink straps tying the two swords together tightly. Picking the swords up, which if she had her facts right was they were called Wakizashi, she was surprised to find them reasonably light, both longer than a standard ninja-to, but not quite as long as a katana. Lying next to the swords were two thick scrolls. She was tempted to look through them right away, but she knew that she was already late in getting home, so she had no choice but to wait until she got home to read them.

Somehow knowing that her day was only going to be ten times better once she read the scrolls and found out what and/or why the mysterious guy had gave the stuff to her, even if she didn't know how she knew, she ran home as fast as she could.

* * *

The man nodded from the shadows, knowing that the girl had gotten the silent message and taken the things he left her. Silently, the dark clad figure jumped up to the rooftops. He still had people to visit, people who held promise, kids that had the potential to protect the Will of Fire better than he did.

* * *

The moment she got home, Sakura had run upstairs after a quick and hurried greeting to her mother, who was in the kitchen fixing up the broken refrigerator. She was giddy and couldn't wait to see what the scrolls said. The minute her bedroom door was closed, she sat everything on the bed and sat down. Picking a random scroll, she unfurled it and out came a folded piece of paper. Intrigued, she unfolded it and found that it was a letter, and just like she had first assumed, it was addressed to her.

_To Haruno Sakura,_

_First things first, and this is important. I need you to think for a moment, and decide why you wish to become a Kunoichi and a Ninja of the Leaf. If it is because you just wish to fit in with your peers, than stop reading now. If you are doing it for some boy, to impress him or whatever, stop reading the letter. If you are doing it because of some childhood princess story and fairy tale, don't touch this letter ever again. _

_But if you are becoming a ninja to protect this village and everything that it stands for, than continue reading. If you are not sure, do not open the scroll and read the scrolls I left you until you decide. I did not go through the painstaking task of forging the swords I gave you and developing the seals that will one day make you one of the most powerful Kunoichis the ninja world has ever seen for someone who wants to become strong for a crush or something else just as childish. I did it because I saw potential in you, but know that even if you have more brains than anyone in your class, that you also have the best chakra control, that does not mean you have the right to this gift._

_There are others I can give this to that will use it better than you if you do not wield the swords and knowledge for the right reasons. So choose, why do you wish to become a Kunoichi and ninja of the Leaf?_

Sakura paused and stopped reading. She was slightly taken aback at first at the fact that she had apparently been spied on, and also at the insinuation that she was not becoming a ninja for the right reasons. But as she thought more about it, the more she became unsure of herself. Why did she decide to become a ninja? She thought back to the days when she had been taken to her father's clothing shop and she remembered seeing those women in the funny clothing. She had asked her dad about them, and he told her that they were ninjas, and that ninjas were there to protect the village and all of Hi no Kuni. She remembered how she thought that the women looked beautiful, and even noticed how her dad kept sneaking glances at them.

That was the first time she became interested in becoming a ninja, but it was due to her old friend and now rival, Ino, that had pushed her into becoming one. She remembered hearing Ino tell her about her family's clan history, and how she was obligated to become a Kunoichi so that she could eventually be head of the clan. Sakura didn't want to be left behind by her only friend, someone that had stuck up for her that one day she had moved into the neighborhood and she was being called forehead girl by the other kids. So she had decided to join the ninja academy to become a ninja just like Ino.

Sakura snorted. Where did that leave her? She had cut off her friendship with the very reason she had decided to become a ninja, to be by Ino's side so they could grow up together and become strong and pretty like the other Kunoichi in the village. She reread the part about not reading any further if she wanted to be strong for a crush, or some kind of fairy tale and shook her head. It was like the guy knew all the reasons she would want to get stronger, the reasons why she didn't have any friends, the reason why she practiced in private. She wanted to impress Sasuke-kun and rub it in her rival's face. But as she again reread that one part, she knew that whoever this man was that had given her the swords and scrolls was right. Becoming a ninja to impress some boy or to fit into the crowd was wrong.

And as much as she didn't like thinking about it, could very much get her killed rather easy some day.

She took a deep breath. The day had been going so well too, but now she had so much to think about and her head was pounding. She needed to get a good night's sleep, wake up with a clear mind so she could make the right decision when it came to accepting the strange man's gift. With that decided, she folded back up the letter and put it next to the beautiful swords, and as she lay down to sleep, she couldn't help but continue to question whether or not she really deserved them.

* * *

"Oh man, Ichiraku's ramen is the best," the smaller than average boy yelled out as he stomped up the stairs to get to his apartment. "Hehe, the look on the old man's face when I ate all those bowls was priceless. I wish I had a camera, I would've took pictures and hung them up all over the village."

The boy reached his apartment and slammed through the door, seemingly oblivious to the yells that came from the lower floor and told him he was being too loud. He didn't care though; if they were peeved that he was loud they could move out, just like the rest of the bastards that moved when he first moved into the apartment building.

The orange clad ten year old slammed his door shut to answer the yells directed at him, then pulled off his backpack and threw that on the couch and headed to the bedroom. He needed to get these clothes off. After digging through the kennels in the Inuzuka clan's housing project to set up a prank, his clothes stank like wet dog. He laughed as he tore his clothes off, he couldn't wait to see Kiba's reaction to flooding the kennels. He sure showed dog breath why Uzumaki Naruto was the best prankster in the village, and that it was stupid to even think about starting a prank war with him. As he headed to the bathroom to take a long shower, however, his good mood evaporated as he felt a presence in his apartment.

Reaching for a kunai he had on the floor, scoffing at the dangers of having such a weapon lying around where he could step on it, he searched his bedroom and stopped short as he saw the dark cloaked figure sitting on his window sill.

"What do you want," he said with a shaky voice. He didn't like the fact that he had not noticed the man until now. He was usually very good at sensing other people, as well as hiding his own presence when he needed to. He had no choice since some of his pranks involved some very high security places. But he had the sinking feeling that he would never have noticed this guy if he didn't want him to.

The cloaked figure tilted his head and Naruto wondered what he looked like under that big hood that hid the man's face. "I'm surprised that it took you so long to realize I was here. I guess I expected better from the person that somehow got inside ANBU training quarters and spray painted all their armor orange," the man said, his voice sounded young, full of confidence and amusement.

Naruto instantly relaxed as he felt no killing intent or reprimand coming from the cloaked man, although he didn't let go of the kunai. "Hehe," he laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I wasn't paying that much attention is all."

"I see," the man said, amusement still in his voice.

Naruto shuffled his feet. "So," he started. "Are you ANBU or something? Are you gonna take me to the old man so he yell at me for flooding the kennels?"

The man chuckled at that. "No, I'm not your standard ANBU. Who I am doesn't matter. Right now I need to explain some things to you and then you need to make a choice. If you choose right, I may just give you an award."

Naruto was instantly suspicious. The man wasn't an ANBU, or standard one as he put it, but he had the dark cloak of one, and he was offering him something for making the right choice. Not sure of what else to do, and knowing if the man really wanted to hurt him Naruto would never had known it anyway before he found himself laying on his floor bleeding, he nodded. Besides, it wasn't every day that he got a free reward just for making a decision.

The man seemed to nod, judging by the shift of his hood. "Good," he began. "However, before we start, I need you to promise me that what I tell you never gets spoken to anyone. If you do, they may be able to track me down and kill me. What I'm going to tell you is an S-class secret, decreed by the Sandaime Hokage to protect this village, and your future."

Naruto couldn't help but gulp at what the man just told him, and by the serious tone of his voice, Naruto knew without a doubt that he was telling the truth.

"How will they know you're the one that told me?" Naruto asked curious, buying some time to think before making his decision.

The man said nothing for a couple of seconds before replying. "They would find out quite easily as a matter of fact," the man said, amusement back in his voice, as though he were talking about an inside joke that he shared with someone. "Only a certain number of people know some of the information I am going to tell you, and Ibiki-san is very good at Torture and Interrogation. It wouldn't take them long to figure out who told you."

Naruto swallowed at that, forcing his mind not to wonder to what kind of torture this Ibiki person would put him through to find out what he wanted. He then sighed. This was information about him the man had said, secret stuff that by the sound of things he would never have been told. He steeled himself before giving the cloaked man his answer.

"Fine, I promise I won't tell anyone what you tell me, that's my word as a ninja, believe it!" he exclaimed while pointing his thumb at himself. The man chuckled softly again before nodding.

"Good," he said. "Now why don't you put on a shirt and some shorts and sit down. This news will come as a shock."

Naruto yelped at that, finally realizing that he was only wearing a towel around his waist. Wasting no time to do as he was told, Naruto sat on the bed and faced the man with an eager expression. Naruto noticed that the man didn't seem to move from his spot at all.

"Alright, let's hear it!" Naruto said to the man with his arms crossed over his chest.

The man tilted his head to the side a little before giving an answer that Naruto was not expecting in a hundred years. "Ok," the guy said back to his no nonsense tone of voice. "I'll get right to the most important secret. The Kyuubi no Kitsune is inside you, and that's the reason so many of the villagers hate you."

Naruto stared at the man in shock. He couldn't be serious, could he? But as Naruto thought about it, he could never explain all the harsh glares and cold eyes that he received from the villagers. What other reason could there be that he was hated, why he was overpriced for everything or simply turned away? Why else would parents tell their children to stay away from him, which made it so he didn't have any friends?

"Stop pouting, gaki," the man's voice broke him out of his reservoir. "I thought it was your dream to become Hokage so that everyone can recognize you?"

"It is!" Naruto defended. "But, but now that I know that I'm the…" he didn't finish as a handle from a kunai suddenly hit him in the head. "What the hell was that for, teme!" he yelled at the man while he robbed his head.

The man just chuckled before replying. "I never said that you were the Kyuubi."

Naruto was now confused. Didn't he just say….

"I said the Kyuubi is inside you, not that you were the Kyuubi," the man admonished.

Naruto blinked a couple of times before smiling and nodding his understanding, although he still had some questions on how that was possible. "But the senseis at school, and the old man said that the Yondaime killed the Kyuubi. How's it in me if he destroyed it already?"

"That was a lie to both protect you and Konoha," the man explained. "It protected you from being kidnapped by other villages who would want the nine tails for its power. They would have turned you into a weapon and have you attack the Leaf. Another reason was so that you could be able to make friends your own age, so that you remained attached to the village."

Naruto snorted at that. Friends? Well that idea was of no help what so ever.

"The Yondaime couldn't kill the beast, no one can kill a tailed demon outright. Therefore, he sealed it into a newborn baby, and that baby was you," the man continued.

Naruto frowned at that. The forth Hokage was his hero, and he was the one that Naruto wanted to surpass above all the others, even the old man. But now he couldn't help but feel a little resentment for the man. Of all the people to pick, why the hell did he pick me?

"Why me?" he asked the man still sitting on the window sill. "Why did he choose me to do it! What the hell did my parents do to make him choose me! Why didn't he choose someone else!"

The man didn't reply right away, instead waiting for Naruto to calm down a little. "Because," the man said lowly. "He couldn't ask another parent to do what he couldn't." Naruto looked confused for a moment, thinking about what the guy said. Couldn't ask a parent to do what he couldn't? But that would mean…

"Holy shit," Naruto said with his eyes wide. "The Yondaime is my dad?"

The man chuckled. "Caught on to that a lot quicker than I thought you would," the hooded man said. "Yes, the forth was your father."

Naruto swallowed, daring to hope this man knew more. "And my mom?" he asked.

The man didn't hesitate, but Naruto noticed a slight tremor in the man's voice when he replied, although he couldn't think of why it was there. "Uzumaki Kushina. Red hair with green eyes. She was a Kenjutsu and Genjutsu specialist from the destroyed Uzu no Kuni."

"Destroyed?" Naruto asked, feelings of loneliness rising to the surface as he realized he didn't even have the country his mom was from to go look for family.

"Yes," the man said. "She, along with her grandparents and cousin were the last of the Uzumaki clan when they came to Konoha during the Second Great Shinobi war. Uzu no Kuni was a land rich with a special type of metal, their blacksmiths were unequal, and they openly traded their weapons with the hidden Mist. Cloud wasn't too happy about this, as the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist often wielded swords that came directly from Uzu. Therefore, they attacked Uzu no Kuni with three Jinchuuriki and other elite ninja's from cloud. The leader of Uzu, and head of the Uzumaki clan that ruled over Uzu no Kuni, was even able to kill one of the Jinchuuriki before he was killed. Your mother was three at the time, and she along with her grandparents and cousin fled before they could be killed along with the village."

Naruto became very sober at the long winded history lesson. He was glad that he now knew a part of his family history, even if it was a sad one. He looked back up at the man and asked, "Do you know if my mom's grandparents or cousin are still alive?"

"No," the older man answered. "All three died during the Third Great Shinobi war. Her cousin in battle, and her grandparents of old age."

Naruto looked down at his hands at that. He was scared to even ask about his dad's family, having the sinking suspicion that it was equally or more sad than what happened to his mother's side of the family. Therefore, he chose to get off the topic completely knowing he could find out the information later. "What the hell is a Jinchuuriki anyway? Are they special shinobi or something? Like the three Sannin?"

The man tilted his head again before answering. "Sort of," he said. "Jinchuuriki is a term used for those people that contain a tailed beast, or demon, like you. Some are as strong as the sannin, others are not. Hopefully you will be one of the ones that are stronger by the time you grow up."

The blond boy smiled a foxy grin, full of confidence. "Hell yea I'm gonna be stronger than those old farts, just like I'm gonna be stronger than all the Hokages! Believe it!"

"Well," the cloaked man said before finally standing up from the window sill. "If that's the case, it's time for you to make your choice."

The boy swallowed loudly at the stern nature of the man's voice before nodding. "What's the choice?"

The cloaked man said nothing, seeming to study Naruto for a few minutes, causing said boy to twitch on occasion. Finally he spoke. "You have been spurned by this village for something you had no control over. It was irrational, and even ten years after the attack they hate you, fear you. You are becoming a shinobi to protect these same people, these cowards, these misguided sheep who know nothing of true sacrifice, yet they do not deserve it. Even the Sandaime does not fully trust you, seeing as he did not tell you of your burden or your heritage." The man paused before continuing.

"Knowing all that, and everything that I told you, will you continue to become a shinobi, continue with your dream to become Hokage, and continue to strive for their recognition? Or will you stop, perhaps leave this village to its fate, turn your back on the people that have forsaken you?" The man looked down at the now wide eyed boy, and he could see tears dropping out of the boys eyes and his trembling as the full scoop of the unfairness of his situation was laid out in front of him.

Naruto's quiet tears and light trembles lasted for about five minutes before they stopped. He took a couple long breathes before responding angrily. "Fuck you!" he shouted while jumping off the bed and pointing at the man. "You listen here and you listen good, teme. I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I don't ever run away from anything! The forth chose me to carry the fox, cause he knew that I was his son and was going to be strong like him someday. I mean sure, it hurts what the villagers do to me, how they stare at me with those eyes, but at least I know why now, and that means I'll just have to try ten times harder to get them to recognize me, and not mistake me for the stupid fox! And as for the old man, well…." He stopped his charade when the stranger suddenly flicked him on the forehead.

"I think I get the point, gaki," the cloaked man said, amusement back into his voice. Naruto scratched the back of his head and gave a goofy grin. "Very well, since you chose the right answer, I guess I will have to do as I promised and reward you."

Naruto eagerly nodded. "Damn straight you do! A shinobi should never go back on his word, no matter what!"

The man seemed to nod once again. "Indeed," he said while he dug into his cloak. He pulled out what looked to be three scrolls and tossed them to Naruto. "Two of these scrolls were made for you by me. Your mother was both water and wind natured, just like any and all Uzumaki from what I understand. Therefore, I am pretty sure you will be as well." He waited for Naruto to nod his understanding before he continued. "Naruto, this is important. Do not show or tell anyone of this meeting. You also cannot show that you know any of those jutsu until you become genin."

Naruto pouted at that. What was the point of learning the jutsus if he couldn't use them. "Also," the man continued before Naruto could get a word in. "You are to continue your charade as the dead last."

"What?!" was the answer he got for that.

The man once again flicked him on the forehead, immediately quieting the younger boy. "Perhaps not the dead last. But you cannot pass the genin test until you are twelve and with those in your age group."

Naruto face grew into a confused frown. "Why?"

"For one," the man answered speaking softly. "You will need time to learn everything in the scrolls. I predicted that it would take you about two years to do this, especially since you have so much to catch up to compared to all the other students in your current class. Secondly," the man continued ignoring the blonds' scowl. "The class you will graduate with when you are twelve is the most promising generation since the Third Great Shinobi war. You will do better with peers that share your own potential."

Naruto seemed to think about it for a couple of minutes. All of that made sense, and he did have to admit that he defiantly was behind all of his classmates at the academy. When he looked up at the man, his eyes grew determined. "Don't worry, cloaked-teme, I'll make sure to do what you said and learn everything on these scrolls even before the two years are up!"

"Cloaked-teme," the man asked with a chuckle. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"Hehe," Naruto laughed. "Well, I couldn't think of anything else."

The man nodded before turning back to the window and stepping on the ledge, ready to leave. Before he did however, he turned back to the blond. "Oh, and a friendly tip to help with your Taijutsu. Seek out a Hyuuga, maybe Hinata-san or Neji-san since they are around your age, and have them spar with you. If neither of them wishes to help, perhaps you can ask Hokage-sama to find someone." With that said, the man jumped out the window before Naruto could even say thank you or ask him any more questions.

'_Geez, he didn't even say bye. Stupid-teme._' Naruto then looked at the scrolls in his arms and smiled wider then he could ever remember smiling before. _'I'm gonna get so strong that everyone will recognize me, believe it!_'

* * *

Hello everybody. So what do you think so far, eh. Review if you want, flame me if you are really that bored, and tell me any mistakes that you found, either in spelling and grammar, or Naruto knowledge. Matter of fact review just to tell me what you think, or any suggestions and/or question you might have. I'll be writing this story at the same time as my other one. Hopefully I'll be able to update once a month for each story.

Oh, and I guess I should let you know that no, Naruto will not be a god at the end of his secret two year training. Don't really like those fics where it takes him only a month and he can somehow take on Kakashi. He will be combatant and stronger though, you'll just have to wait and see how much. Also, the cloaked man didn't only visit these two, and you will probably see who else as the story progresses without me even telling you.

Peace, love, and chicken grease,

DrHokage


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